Shanghai’s old hospital

By:  January 5, 2019 Categories: 

I decided to enter this art deco building at 505 Dong Changzhi Lu, as it seemed totally deserted when I entered. Inside I discovered it to be be an old seamen’s hospital, built by colonialists in 1934. As I explored more inwards — and just as I sent a photo to my friend — I started to hear dog barks, both from the entrance as well as from the back of the building — echoing through the corridors. “At least she knows where to find me if I’m eaten alive by dogs”, I thought to myself. I turned a corner and saw a dog blocking the path, barking my way. Yet then I saw a person move passed a distant doorway, and it turned out to be the guy who brought water to the dogs. I followed him outside as he chased the dogs away, my heart still racing. Only then did I finish my message to my friend to tell how stunning a place this is.

Latest

The Lies We Tell

The Lies We Tell

I left my hometown when I was 19. After nearly two decades in a dozen Dutch cities, Sydney and Shanghai, I’m back. I push Hasse’s stroller and see once again these streets and buildings that are old yet ever new. Everything is closer than I remember it, distances I travelled as a teenager seem now […]
October 27, 2026
Dit is ook China review

Dit is ook China review

‘Dit is ook China’ by Cindy Zhu Huijgen isn’t a perfect book. And yet it’s enjoyable, and when you turn the last page and close it, you’re — rather than feeling relieved — you’re just glad you read it, and you’re glad you’re a person who reads books. Before starting, I was a bit discouraged […]
October 26, 2026
Travel plugs

Travel plugs

In our new house, many appliances still get their power through a travel adapter. Eight years in China was long enough to not only put down roots and settle in, but also for everything we owned to end in a Chinese plug: my MacBook, the coffee machine, the rice cooker, the baby monitor. The appliances […]
September 21, 2026
Twenty-three years

Twenty-three years

In June we moved back to the Netherlands, six suitcases across 8000 kilometres, and after a brief spell at my parents’ place, we moved into our own home. This second move also involved putting down carpet, curtains, buying appliances and furniture — so that our new garage quickly filled with cardboard boxes and other packaging […]
August 29, 2026